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# A Blade of Grass Assembly Kicks Off With Film Screenings and Keynote by Trans Activist Tourmaline
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/film-screenings-and-keynote-trans-activist-tourmaline-kick-off-a-blade-grass-assembly-on-october-19-2019/
- Published: 2019-10-11T13:30:30.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:53:14.000Z
- Description: This event on October 19 is a biannual day-long learning exchange and magazine launch for creative changemakers to investigate the methods, ethics, challenges, and joys of practicing art that advances social justice.
- Author: a-blade-of-grass
- Tags: Announcement, A Blade of Grass, Brooklyn, Event Announcement, New York, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:34 (2019, 2020, part 1)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2019/10/a-blade-of-grass_tourmaline_1080x1079.jpg)

Filmmaker, artist, and activist Tourmaline. Photo courtesy of the artist.

[A Blade of Grass](http://bit.ly/2pUSnBx?ref=hyperallergic.com) believes in the power of socially engaged art and artists to participate meaningfully in creating a more equitable and compassionate future.

Rooted in the themes of *A Blade of Grass Magazine* Issue #3, the [Fall 2019 Assembly](http://bit.ly/2q2wujY?ref=hyperallergic.com) will be co-presented by the [Museum of the Moving Image](http://bit.ly/2olRamE?ref=hyperallergic.com) and explore how socially engaged artists are challenging the way people see others and conduct our lives in ways that exclude the lived experience and creative potential of those who do not fit into the social norms and physical expectations of our society. How can art turn the disabling gaze of normative society toward the liberatory possibilities of those at the so-called “margins”?

After short film screenings and featured keynote by trans activist and filmmaker [Tourmaline](https://www.tourmalineproductions.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), attendees will choose from seven intimate and interactive workshops led by the below artists and organizations:

- Collaborating with immigrant coops with [**Sol Aramendi**](http://www.solaramendi.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Public housing narratives with [**The Blue Bus Project**](https://www.thebluebusproject.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and **Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement**
- [**Maya Ciarrocchi**](https://www.mayaciarrocchi.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and [**Kris Grey**](https://kristingrey.com/page/1-Bio.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) presenting [**Gender/Power**](http://www.genderpower.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com)
- Alternative mental health practices with [**Ras Cutlass**](https://cutlasstheory.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and members of [**Citiview Connections Clubhouse**](https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/en/find-services/result/4361132/?fbclid=IwAR0zoGnLjDBoVyK96YLYXB7HGBKM1kI6T8-2a-ER9HxBOzKFxDSL9cuCtt4&ref=hyperallergic.com)
- [**Fountain House Gallery**](https://www.fountainhousegallery.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) with [**Schizophrenic.NYC** ](https://www.schizophrenic.nyc/?ref=hyperallergic.com)founder **Michelle Hammer**
- Disability justice with [**Kevin Gotkin**](http://kevingotkin.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), Dominic Bradley, Pelenakeke Brown, and Yo-Yo Lin
- Beyond immigrant stereotypes with [**Shireen Soliman**](http://shireensoliman.com/meet-shireen/?ref=hyperallergic.com) and [**Emerald Isle Immigration Center**](https://eiic.org/?ref=hyperallergic.com) with J.T. Takagi of [**Third World Newsreel**](https://www.twn.org/twnpages/about/about%5F1.aspx?ref=hyperallergic.com)

Full and Half-day Admission available.

**For full details and to buy your ticket, visit** [**www.abladeofgrass.org/events/fall-2019-assembly**](http://bit.ly/2q2wujY?ref=hyperallergic.com)